Coal burn could increase with Illinois nuclear unit offline: PJM

With the shutdown of Exelon Generation’s 1,242-MW Braidwood-1 nuclear power unit in Braceville, Illinois, this week, there could be an uptick of coal burn in PJM’s power grid, a spokesman with the regional transmission organization said Tuesday.

Exelon announced the nuclear unit, located about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, was shut Monday for a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage. Exelon does not disclose the expected duration of its outages for commercial reasons. However, the average duration of refueling outages at US power reactors in 2014 was about 37 days, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.